More than Partners
by fredesrojo
Summary: Tag to 5x07 Requiem. JIBBS!


_**A/n: small tag to the end of 5x07 Requiem. I feel that there's quite a few unfinished things between Gibbs and Jenny.

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Requiem

Maddie Tyler toyed with the hem of her NCIS t-shirt as she sat outside NCIS Director Jenny Shepard's office, eyeing the silver doors apprehensively.

"Miss Tyler." Maddie jumped, her tangled blonde locks whipping against her face as she turned, staring at Director Shepard. "Ma'am?"

"I didn't mean to scare you, Miss Tyler. Come on in, I just need you to sign this witness statement, and then you're free to go."

Maddie trailed after the redhead, sitting down in the offered chair at Jenny's conference table. "Is Gunn—I mean, Agent Gibbs okay?"

"He's just fine, Maddie, refusing treatment as usual. He went home an hour ago." Jenny gave her a reassuring smile, handing her a pen. "Just sign right here, verifying that Jeth—Agent Gibbs was acting in your defense."

She nodded slowly, taking the pen and scrawling a neat signature at the bottom. "I honestly didn't even think he still lived here. I know he missed Kelly's funeral because he was in a coma, Daddy explained that to me. I was gonna go see him after he got back, but…Daddy got re-stationed, we moved to Florida a week after the funeral and I didn't see him again."

"You were Kelly's best friend."

Maddie's lips twitched in a faint grin. "Still am. We were…Gunny joked that we were sisters separated at birth or something. Er…I mean, Agent Gibbs."

"You can call him Gunny, I know he's a Marine." Jenny gave the girl an encouraging smile. "How did you find out that he was at NCIS?"

"When I came to report uh…Rudi, the security guard downstairs, I think his name was Jack, he told me I ought to talk to Agent Gibbs. I asked what his full name was, and that's when I knew, it was Gunny."

"And then the natural over-protectiveness worked in your favor."

"Well…yeah." Maddie laughed, spinning the pen slowly between her fingers. "I remember once, Kelly had a bad fall off of Thumper, Gunny nearly took a kick in the face to get Kelly out of the way."

"Thumper?"

"Oh. Thumper was a horse at the stables we both took lessons at. Kelly was a great rider."

"I'm sure she was." Jenny smiled, taking the pen and witness statement from the girl, tucking it safely away into the case file. "And you're alright, Miss Tyler?"

"Ugh…call me Maddie, please, Miss Tyler makes me feel old. I'm okay now. I actually probably better get going, I'm staying with a classmate for a few weeks 'til my apartment gets sorted out."

"Alright then, Maddie. Call me Jenny." They both stood, walking back out of her office towards the elevator. "Listen, I'm sure if you called Je—er…Gunny, he'd be more than happy to help you fix up your place. Agent DiNozzo probably wouldn't mind, either."

Maddie grinned faintly, shaking off the offer of help. "I've got a few frat brothers who are more than happy to help out a pretty lady, I think I'll be just fine, Jenny. Thank you for the offer, though." She turned around to look at Jenny one last time as she made her last request. "Would you tell Gunny I said thank you? I don't know if I'll be able to see him again."

Jenny nodded after a moment, watching the girl make her way to a silver Bug, where she was hugged tightly by one of her friends. She lifted her hand in a half wave as the Bug drove away.

* * *

Jenny packed up her things and left NCIS Headquarters almost on autopilot, her mind running through her conversation with Jethro earlier that day.

"_Just how many years ago? Five? Ten?"_

"_Fifteen."_

She winced internally as she remembered the way his eyes had flashed, obviously wounded by her prodding. The admission that Maddie Tyler had been a good friend of his deceased daughter clearly took a lot out of him. Her selfish desire to find out who Maddie was had hurt him.

That's all they seemed to be doing to each other these days, pushing and prodding, trying to find the best way to hurt each other. Jenny looked up, surprised to have her car come to a stop in front of a house she didn't own. Somehow subconsciously, she had headed straight to Jethro's house from NCIS. She sighed after a minute, turning off the car and stepping out. If they were going to end this ridiculous cycle of hurt, _some_one had to take the first step.

The tentative, low strains of a beginner playing piano wound their way through the house as she walked in, her brow furrowing. She tracked the sound to the basement door, moving as quietly as her heels would allow. She stopped at the head of the stairs, squinting down into the gloom.

Gibbs sat on the sawdust strewn floor with his back resting against the workbench, a half-empty bottle of vodka by his right hand. An old eight-track tape player lay near his left knee, and he gripped what looked like two photos tightly in his left hand.

"If you've come to yell at me, Jen, I'm not exactly in the mood. Ducky and Abby already lectured me. I'm not lookin' for another." His voice was hoarse, whether from the liquor or his emotional pain, she didn't know. He reached out to stop the tape player, cutting off the piano playing mid-phrase.

"I'm not." Jenny took the stairs slowly, making her way across the basement to stand in front of him. "Here to yell, I mean."

He grunted in response, raising a disbelieving eyebrow. "Sure you aren't." He muffled the second half of his statement in the vodka bottle, taking a long swig.

"Jethro…I didn't come here to fight, or yell, or lecture you. I came to make sure that my friend, my _partner_, was okay."

His mouth twitched into a facsimile of his usual smirk, spreading his arms wide. "'M just fine, Jen, as you c'n see."

"Drunk is not fine, Jethro."

"'M not drunk…" He tilted the bottle back to his lips, taking another long swig. "…Yet."

Jenny sighed, crouching by his side. "Jethro…really, you can't do this."

He skillfully moved the bottle out of her reach, his blue eyes twinkling with something. He clearly wasn't as drunk as he acted. "Thought you said you weren't here to lecture me, Madame Director?"

She sighed, finally giving up on the drinking and sitting on the floor next to him. "You had Maddie worried, disappearing like you did after we all got back to NCIS."

He shifted, setting the bottle down guiltily. "I…uh…I had something to take care of."

"I understand, Jethro, it's hard looking at her when all you see is Kelly."

"That's still not a good reason to avoid her…" Jethro sounded disappointed in himself, staring down at the picture sitting on his leg. "I always looked after her like she was my own, Kelly's best friend or not. She deserves better than me slinking out of the office because she reminds me of Kelly."

"I told her you'd probably be more than happy to help her straighten that apartment up again."

He looked over at her, taking the offer for what it was, an out for discussing a topic that so obviously bothered him. "I'd like that. Maybe…I'll give her a call later this week."

Jenny made a noise of assent, nodding slowly. "And you'll tell one of your team or me the next time you decide to go off on some harebrained crusade?"

His neck flushed. "I, uh…yeah. I—I should have told you where I was going."

"I probably could have figured out where your thoughts were going if I'd paid closer attention from the start." Jenny shrugged, eyeing the tape player. "That Kelly, playing on the tape?"

Jethro blinked, nodding slowly after a moment of hesitation. "Piano was one of her favorite things, next to horseback riding and playing with those dolls."

"Maddie told me you nearly took a hoof to the face trying to save her from Thumper."

He chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Damn horse got spooked by a leaf crunching. Scared the hell out of me, when he reared up and Kel fell off."

"I'm sure it did. Maddie said you stood in as a surrogate dad to her sometimes, too." She tilted her head sideways, looking at him calmly. "Why didn't you say anything, when I asked you about having kids during the Tanner case?"

"I'd kinda made it a habit to hide Shannon and Kelly long before then, Jen." He raised one shoulder in a half shrug. "I never really thought about having another kid. Kelly always wanted a little brother or sister, Shannon and I were planning on trying after I got back from Iraq, but…"

"I just assumed I'd offended you or something, and thought better to leave you alone."

His lips curled in a brief grin. "You didn't offend me, Jen. Though if that offer still stands…" He winked, setting a warm hand on her knee.

"Jethro! God, get your mind out of the bedroom!" Jenny laughed, whacking his shoulder sharply.

"Who said we have to be in a bedroom?"

Jenny silenced him with a glare. "Seriously, Jethro. Shut. Up."

"I _am_ being serious, Jen." He looked at her earnestly, the vodka messing with his instinctual reaction to hide his emotions. "I meant what I said when you became Director."

"I missed you too, Jethro, but that doesn't mean we need to jump right back into the same affair we had before!" Jenny shifted, scooting over to put some distance between them.

"So you're saying that your 'no off the job' rule doesn't necessarily have to stand." He leaned closer, his hot breath washing over her shoulder.

"You're the one still in a committed relationship."

Gibbs shrugged, shaking his head. "What, Hollis? I ended that. She's looking for different things, stuff I can't give."

"Oh, so I'm just your rebound again, then." Jenny scowled at him, moving further away.

"Hey. No, that's not what I meant." Jethro shifted, moving to crouch in front of her, his blue eyes focusing on her green ones. "You were never a rebound, for anyone. The divorce with Diane may not have been finalized when we started working together, but I never used you as a rebound for her. And _if_ we agree to start this…us, up again, I'm not viewing you as a rebound." He caught her chin in his hand, looking directly into her eyes as he spoke. "Now if that's not enough for you, then fine. I can deal with that. I'm happy going back to friends…partners."

Jenny stared back at him, her gaze conflicted. "Jethro…there are so many reasons that this is a terribly bad idea…"

"And there's just as many reasons why it's a good idea." He looked at her, his gaze clear and unwavering. "Jenny…it may have taken me eight years to realize this and actually say it, but I love you. I love your supposed Agent and Director sides, though they're really just one and the same. I love that you know exactly how to read me, when I've had people on my team for longer who have no clue. I love that you know exactly how to work as a woman in the men's club up as Director. Jenny, I love you. I'm sorry that I ever made you doubt that I did, and I'm definitely sorry I didn't come after you in Paris."

Jenny took a deep breath, tears stinging her eyes as she surged forward, trapping him tightly in a hug. "I've been waiting to hear you say that for years."

Jethro leaned back on his haunches, wrapping his own arms tightly around her as a reflex. "So…about that 'no off the job'…"

She pulled back, smiling brightly. "That order has been rescinded, Agent Gibbs."

He grinned, leaning his forehead against hers. "So then you won't mind if I do this…" He finished moving across the last bit of distance separating them, pressing his lips against hers gently.

They broke apart after a long moment, breathing in shared air. Jenny smiled brilliantly, wrapping her arms around his neck. "You can do that whenever you like."

"Good." He grinned, kissing her slowly again.

She smiled, her fingers tracing slow patterns on his neck. "Gonna have to thank Maddie."

Gibbs laughed, standing up quickly and pulling her to her feet. "Thank Maddie later. Bed now."

The Gibbs house rang with Jenny's happy laughter and then a squeal of surprise as he bent, sweeping her off her feet to carry her up the stairs.

Jenny knew things were going to be okay now. They both had found something they thought lost. Their partnership, _friendship_, was back and stronger than ever.

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_**A/n: Saw Requiem the other day, had to write this. Hopefully you all like it! **_

_**Review please, they make me very happy!**_

_**-meg**_


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